Zelenski asks Guterres for UN guarantee to demilitarise Zaporiyia nuclear power plant

Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky on Thursday called on UN Secretary General António Guterres to ensure that the UN guarantees the demilitarisation of the Zaporiyia nuclear power plant, which is under the control of Russian troops, in order to prevent a catastrophe from occurring there.
 
Zelenski said that the "deliberate terror" of Russian troops at the facility "can have catastrophic global consequences for the whole world", according to the Ukrainian president's office after the meeting between the two men in Lviv (west). Zelenski said the UN "must guarantee the security of this strategic site, its demilitarisation and the complete liberation of Russian troops".
 
The Ukrainian president held a meeting in Lviv with Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with whom he discussed, among other issues, the situation regarding the transport of grain from Ukraine, which was unblocked after an agreement was recently reached in Istanbul. "We agreed to continue coordination on the implementation of the grain initiative," Zelenski said.
 
"We also discussed possible directions of its development, the issue of forced and illegal deportation of Ukrainians and the release of our military and medical personnel," the Ukrainian president added. The meeting between Zelenski, Guterres and Erdogan was held at the Potocki Palace in Lviv, where the Turkish president arrived by flight from Ankara with a stopover in the Polish city of Rzeszow, some 80 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
 
Guterres arrived in Ukraine as early as Wednesday and on Friday is due to visit Odessa and its port, which is being used for the export of Ukrainian grain as part of the UN-Turkey deal.